Zenner rushes for 295 yards in South Dakota State romp

In a game featuring one of the FCS' top running backs and one of the better passing attacks, the run game was better suited in South Dakota State's 58-10 FCS playoff win over Eastern Illinois Saturday.

Running back Zach Zenner accounted for a school-record 295 yards and three
touchdowns, and South Dakota State had 434 on the ground. The Jackrabbits
jumped out to a comfortable 34-3 halftime lead before literally running away
to the first-round win.

It was the first FCS playoff win in three appearances for the Jackrabbits
(9-3), who will play in an intriguing second-round matchup on Dec. 1 against
fellow Missouri Valley Conference member North Dakota State (10-1), the No. 1
seed and the defending FCS champion.

SDSU already played at North Dakota State on Nov. 10, losing, 20-17.

The Jackrabbits totaled 580 yards of offense and 29 first downs. Quarterback
Austin Sumner completed 13-of-28 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown.
Reggie Gandy also rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

Zenner broke the game open with a 68-yard touchdown run to put the Jackrabbits
up 7-0 with 4:27 left in the first quarter. They scored 24 second-quarter
points.

Zenner, the FCS rushing leader, raised his season total to 1,998 yards.

Eastern Illinois came into the game ranked No. 6 in the FCS in passing offense
(354 yards per game) and total offense (480 yards per game), but was held to
just 221 and 366 yards, respectively. They also had been averaging nearly 39
points per game.